In The Third Year

Milton Jordan

June 24, 2022

We began, after three long years, to shed

burdensome precautions and slide back

toward a hoped for almost normal.

The virus, though, had variants

to slip unseen into our midst

with old demands for measurement and masks.

I see, you know, the smile behind your mask,

a crinkle at eye’s edge, your cheek stretching

those elastic straps around your ear. 

A new covid outbreak has infected many residents and some staff in the Senior Living Center in Georgetown where Milton has lived with Anne for these three years.